This past week, nine Ivey MSc students showcased their ability to adapt and operate outside of their comfort zones as they participated in the first Virtual Stock Pitch Competition (VSPC) hosted by the MScA. With our Ivey Essentials Finance course being cut short due to COVID-19 MSc students demonstrated their true drive to learn by researching, preparing, and pitching a stock to our three judges. Names featured ranged across a broad spectrum of businesses across various industries, including Dollarama, Enbridge, and Carnival Corporation & Plc, to name a few.
Successfully overcoming the challenges of learning new technology, students rotated into a Zoom call with our three judges Mitchell Morrison from TD Securities, and Eric Williams and Riley Gray from RBC Capital Markets, where they delivered their 5-minute pitch and answered questions from the Judges. Students also prepared a stock summary sheet to supplement their pitches. All three judges noted how impressed they were with the effort and caliber of presentations from the cohort and that there was a strong understanding of a broad range of businesses and industries across the board. Three finalists, SaikrishnaRajaramagopolan, Chenchen Ma, and MayuranSivakumaran, advanced to present in front of the larger class audience. After much deliberation and a tough decision Saikrishna was awarded as the winner of the VSPC.
Following the competition, MScA members engaged in a detailed discussion panel with the judges and students. Judges shared information about their careers in finance and how to get your foot in the door, a day in their life (which we learned varies greatly day-to-day), as well as transferable skills they have learned along the way. Investing strategies and philosophies were shared, as well as a plethora of resources to help students understand the markets. Two of the three judges present were Ivey alumni, and the MSc cohort is very grateful to all of the judges for sharing their Sunday and expertise with us.
Finally, RBC kindly sponsored a virtual information session and MSc students were joined by Jazmyn Thomson and Daniela D’Ambrosi to share what roles are available at RBC and their experiences with the corporate culture at RBC.
Just one month into the COVID-19 self-isolation period, MSc students showed that they will take any opportunity to develop both their technical and interpersonal skillset and can adapt to the virtual setting seamlessly.